Day 7 - Harajuku

As a lolita, I knew that my first day in Tokyo - I was heading to Harajuku. For those who don't know, Harajuku is where most fashion is for Tokyo. In my case, that means that all of the lolita stores that I adore are available for my shopping pleasure.

Forewarning, I was so enthused with shopping today that I really didn't take many photos. That and the fact that one is not allowed to take photos of any of the fashion stores. Sucks, but there it is.

We arrived bright and early in Harajuku at 10am ready to do our shopping. Problem is that most of the lolita shops don't open until 11am. Not really a problem as we shopped in the few that were open. First off was an accessory shop where everything was 315 yen. And it was all really cute stuff. My favourite purchase were the furry hairclips. Afterwards we proceeded into Closet Child (a lolita store that trades in second hand pieces). I went a little nuts and bought 4 dresses and a number of accessories. But to be fair, I have sold off a lot of the pieces that I no longer wear in my own wardrobe, so I am simply replenishing my supplies.

The remainder of the morning saw us head into the likes of Bodyline, Innocent World, Alice and the Pirates, Putumayo and Angelic Pretty.

But the next stop was Kiddyland - a whole 5 floors of cute things, including a hello kitty area, a starwars and lego area and a snoopy area. Arms full of shopping, we headed back towards Takeshita street (the main shopping thoroughfare) where we discovered a massive 100 yen shop comprising of 5 floors. Called Daiso, it is a store where everything inside is priced at 105 yen (the 5 is tax). The best thing is that there are so many cute and practical things there - minnie mouse and hello kitty, zip lock bags, writing paper, snacks, craft products. You can find most things there, and it is just so incredibly cheap that it is very easy to shop.

Our last stop before heading back to the hotel for the evening was to try a Harajuku Crepe. I will let the pictures speak for themselves, but it was very tasty.

 

Day 6 - Snow Monkeys & Ginza

Snow Monkeys! The day had arrived. We woke up bright and early and after grabbing some food from the local supermarket we took a few photos in the snow. I was super excited about the snow. Living in Queensland my entire life, I just don't see it. We went to the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales when I was 8, which would be the last time I saw snow. So yes, as you can see by the photos, I got a little carried away. Plus, my new furry boots were keeping me so warm.

These photos are of the entrance to our hotel and the onsen where we bathed last night.

After getting back, we jumped on the hotel shuttle bus which was to take us up to monkey park. It was amazing seeing the town blanketed by snow. Our driver said that it's only Westerners that come to see the snow monkeys in winter, where the Japanese come in Summer. It must be something about the snow for us all. Once we arrived at the entrance, we snapped a few photos before heading off. It's about a 30 - 45 minute walk up to the snow monkey area through snow covered forest. To top it off, it was snowing. So, I give you photo of the forest. Twas beautiful.

And then we got to Monkey Park. Where I took an abundance of photos.

We shopped for some postcards which should be in the mail soon, then started to make our way back to the pick up zone. We had been warned that the monkeys will steal plastic bags but since we were heading away from the monkeys didn't really think anything more on it. That is until one launched himself at my plastic bag leaving me holding the handles. He was disappointed when he opened the bag though and after realising there was no food, walked off. So I was able to get my postcards back.

After that little drama, we headed back to the shuttle bus. It had been back to the hotel to pick up our bags and the next stop was to drop us off at the train station so that we could be on our way to Tokyo. It was incredibly convenient. So, if anyone is going to see Monkey Park in Yudanaka, stay where we did at Yoroduya Annex Yurakuan http://www.yurakuan.com/e_web/index.html.

Then it was a matter of a couple of trains. One back to Nagano and then a Shinkansen (bullet train) to Ueno, followed by a local train to Tawaramachi where our hotel is. It's another Toyoko Inn, so affordable price and has everything we need. For the evening, we decided to head to Ginza for a little shopping and dinner. We tripped over to the Tokyu Hands department store and into the Stationary Floor where we shopped up big. By then, starvation had set in and we headed out for dinner. That is, until we could not find our restaurant. We were heading for Princess Heart, a theme restaurant, we found the building but it was not there. It's not until later that I realise, we had the back of the building, so we may have to try and go back.

Instead, we found a cute little local french patisserie style place called Almond. The cakes looked divine and our food was lovely, so it was a good choice at any rate.